LOCAL • INDEPENDENT • FREE Volume 14
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Issue 24
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June 12 – June 18, 2020
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saratogaTODAYnewspaper.com
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518- 581-2480
BEATING THE PANDEMIC:
Cutting Edge Research at Saratoga Hospital
Julie Whaley, MLS(ASCP)CM, blood bank supervisor, Saratoga Hospital Laboratory Services. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — In every public crisis, people rely on the training and courage of first responders and emergency medical personnel. While that remains true in the COVID19 pandemic, the teams whose mettle are most tested are in the laboratory. Saratoga Hospital’s Chair and Medical Director of Saratoga Hospital Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Josenia “Joy” Tan, MD, MT(ASCP), FCAP, and Director of Laboratory
Services Richard Vandell, MS, MT(ASCP)SC, SH, knew they were facing a virus that spread like wildfire, but no one really knew how or how to identify those infected. According to Dr. Tan, “Even large laboratories were making decisions in the dark. So we read everything we could get our hands on for ideas. The community was counting on us, so we worked the science and kept figuring it out.” See Story pg. 10
Remote Teaching Hitting the Streets One Local School’s Quick Pivot by Opal Jessica Bogdan Saratoga TODAY SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 2020 school year was marked as unforgettable as students, teachers and parents all moved to distance learning. COVID-19 changed the world of teaching and soon after the virus struck the Saratoga community, Saratoga Central Catholic School started to implement innovative distance learning. They began online classes on March 18, connecting students daily with set schedules, Zoom classes and encouraging messages for their students.
“This has been an experiment. We learned by doing and I think that many of the schools have proven they can continue education under very difficult circumstances, which this pandemic certainly is,” Michael Kondratowicz, interim principal said. “The distance learning with contact to the faculty, has allowed the students to be guided by their teachers. It’s helped parents by educating their children and allowing them to meet on a regular basis with their teachers under these unusual circumstances.” See Story pg. 3
Dinings New Outdoor Options
Commissioner of Accounts John Franck stands on Henry Street on June 9, 2020 and depicts where a Jersey barrier may potentially be placed. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos. See Story pg. 9
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